Indonesian President Joko Widodo greets Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Bali © Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
The European Union delegation said, on Tuesday, that diplomats from the Group of Twenty countries reached a settlement agreement on a joint statement to be signed by their leaders, after days of negotiations over a statement acceptable to both Western powers, Russia and China.
Leaders of most of the world’s most powerful nations met in Bali, Indonesia, on Tuesday amid disagreements over Russia’s war in Ukraine. Officials fear that the summit will be the first of the G20 to end without a joint statement.
But Charles Michel, the president of the European Council, said Tuesday morning that MPs had signed an agreement late on Monday night, which will now be presented to leaders for their final approval.
Another Western delegation confirmed that deal, but other officials warned that the deal could still fall before it is signed.
Russian President Vladimir Putin missed the summit and sent his Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in his place.
His war will dominate the Bali summit as nations grapple with the effects of runaway global inflation, instability, and food and energy shortages, but they also wrangle over whether Putin is to blame and how the conflict should end.
China, which has not condemned Putin and his annexation of parts of eastern Ukraine, last week blocked Western efforts to use strong language in the G-20 statement condemning Moscow.
“We must try to use the G-20 meeting to try to persuade all partners to put more pressure on Russia,” Michel said on Tuesday, before the summit’s official start.
He added that Michel had no plans to meet Lavrov in Bali.
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